Jamie’s Heading Back Home

Posted on February 8, 2010
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My bike riding buddy is heading back to jolly ole’ England after months of job searching here in South Florida. We’re all going to miss the limey bastard. Hopefully he’ll come back and visit.

Farewell old friend, may your future endeavors prove prosperous.

Dreary Monday Morning

Posted on January 25, 2010
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This is what Mondays always seem to feel like. Today it just happens to look the same. Overcast and gray though not quite raining.

The weekend wasn’t too bad. I headed down to Delray on Saturday night for Deano’s 35th birthday party. Most of the SA gang was there for dinner at Le Cabanna on Atlantic. It was good to see everyone but I wasn’t able to stay too long after dinner as I was on the bike and riding on a Saturday night is a bit dangerous. Way too many drunks out so I headed home early. Happy birthday big guy, I miss you all.

Gearheads, Rednecks and Sportbikes…Awesome

Posted on January 21, 2010
Filed Under Friends, Motorcycle | 1 Comment


Last night I joined Jamie for a ride up to what used to be Moroso Speedway (forgot what it’s called now) for some drag racing. Nice night ride on the bikes up, a bit chilly but fun. His buddy Adam was racing his Kawasaki ZX1400 (same bike as Jamie, though race tuned) on the strip against a couple other bikes. We had a chance to watch him hit the strip twice, both times were right around 9.87 seconds. Quick!

Loads of hotrods, slicks, funny cars, road rockets and even a couple supercharged Jeep Cherokees. Loud, smokey and awesome. The scenery reminded me of the Highland County Fair, though regrettably not nearly as many red necks. Plenty of junk in the truck though, haha.

Aside from the 45 minute track shut-down for an oil spill it was pretty bad ass. I shot some video and snapped a few shots. I’ll post the video later.

Finally, I Fixed It

Posted on January 15, 2010
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I had set up my blog to feed directly into Facebook for the longest time. Though it’s not a bad idea it did make me think twice about posting since I knew it was going through to Facebook.

It took a while to find what exactly it was I did to make it happen in the first place since Facebook has changed it’s layout and I had no idea where the damn setting was to turn it off (hint, it’s under “import blog” to your wall).

So now they’re completely separate once again and I can write nonsense just like I used to. Yay.

Warmer Weather’s On The Way

Posted on January 14, 2010
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Well, for us anyway. Today’s the first morning in a week or so I haven’t seen my breath when I walk out on the balcony. Only 54 degrees this morning. Soon we’ll be back in the 70’s where we belong. Finally I won’t be freezing my ass off on the motorcycle when I want to go somewhere.

Still Kickin

Posted on January 11, 2010
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Sorry for the lack of writing lately. I’ve been busy with work and there really hasn’t been much to write about. New years was cool, nothing to brag about. The weather seems to be the most prevalent topic lately since it’s been so freakin’ cold here I can’t believe it. 30s in the mornings and it has rarely gotten over 45 degrees over the last few days. Feels like I’m still living in Ohio!

At least the sun finally came back out over the last two days but I have yet to get back on the motorcycle and go anywhere. Way too cold for a quick ride out to the beach even if just to get out of the house.

It’s due to warm back up over the next week or so. Hell, last week it was 83 one day so I took advantage of the warmth and hit the pool for a couple hours with Jamie and Matthew. At least I got a little color back.

There has been surf but I’m not hauling my boards down to the beach in this weather. Even with a wetsuit, the walk back would probably send me into hypothermia.

Glad That’s Over

Posted on December 31, 2009
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Wow, there are stressful weeks and there are stressful weeks. This week was to be a hair graying week for sure.

With two sites due by Wednesday noon and a full site design comp I had a ton of work to get done in two and half days. On top of that I found out my motorcycle had a flat back tire. It was a brand new tire (3-4 months old) so I must have ridden over something nasty, good thing it was a slow leak.

Now having a flat in a car is fairly simple, put the spare on and drive to a shop and get a new one. Not so with a motorcycle. Since it’s my only transportation it brought up some unique issues with such a dilemma. One, no way to get it to the shop and in my case, no tools in which to change it.

Luckily I had driven Vince’s girlfriend and kids to the airport on Monday morning so he let me borrow his ride to solve my issue. So I went up to cycle gear and purchased all I’d need to change it. A bike rack (raises the back wheel off the ground), the tire itself and since I was there I got all the necessary items for an oil change as well. One problem…no sockets. So it was off to AutoZone for a 22mm socket (since that’s what the guy told me I needed). I bought a 21 and 22mm… neither fit so I went back and got a 23mm…. no luck there either. Finally I just got a set and said screw it. Of course it took four trips to get it right but I could finally get the wheel off.

Now to take the wheel off you have to take the axle off, remove the chain and brake assemblies and then it was back to the shop. Once that was done it was a challenge to put it all back together the same way it came apart…what fun. In between all of this I gave myself an oil change. Keep in mind during this entire time I have three deadlines on my mind so every trip to the store was also costing me money and precious time. Just a little stressful.

It’s all back together now and running fine and I was able to meet all deadlines but man, I’m glad that was over. A couple 12 hour days and some serious eye strain will do it. At least I now know how to service my bike and change the dreaded back tire. Hope your week was better than mine.

Avatar Was Amazing

Posted on December 24, 2009
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All I have to say is wow, this movie was amazing. I had a chance to see it in 3d at Muvico down the street and wow. Stunning visual effects and a pretty good story line, though the previews do give away quite a bit if you pay attention.

It’s definitely a must see movie. I’m not sure about the “future of movies” comment everyone seems to be making. It’s an evolution of how movies are made but it’s still a movie never the less.

The overall production cost of Avatar was 300 million and it made over 274 million on opening weekend… not bad at all.

If you have a chance to catch this visual stunner before it leaves theaters definitely do so. You won’t be disappointed.

Avatar The Movie

Hit Girl Is A Badass

Posted on December 23, 2009
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Just saw this on WWTDD and had to repost it. Warning… some dirty language, haha. There’s just something funny about a 12 year old hit woman. Ah, take a look you’ll see what I mean.

The Birthday Weekend

Posted on December 16, 2009
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Bryan, Me and Jamie

It actually turned out pretty cool. Friday night before I got to hang out with Vinny, Annette, George and Frank over at Vinny’s place. The rest of the evening was a bit of a bummer but that’s how it goes.

Saturday night was a lot of fun. We hit Roxy’s new rooftop bar on our way to Lost Weekends. The rooftop bar was very cool; actually made you feel like you in the city. I ended up running into a couple stunners who recognized me from Halloween as the SWAT guy. I guess I made an impression because they weren’t the only ones to bring up that costume that night.

From there we pretty much bounced around Clematis. I had to stop into Rocco’s since Stacy said she had a shot waiting for me. Can’t let that go to waste. I ran into Rocco who gave me a full bottle of Patron for my birthday. Awesome, thanks Rocco!

Rocco’s, Lost Weekends, Feelgoods, Monarchy, Roxy’s upstairs and Down and who knows where else we went. It was a great time!

December Morning Sunrise

Posted on December 9, 2009
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Palm Beach Sunrise

For the past few days I’ve been getting up around 5am for some reason. Well, I know the reason, I’m busy as hell and I’ve got to find the time somewhere to get the work done.

So this morning I thought I’d take advantage of my early-bird-ness (is that a word?) and take a quick ride out to the beach to catch the sunrise. It was a nice little 30 minute break just watching the day wake up.

This shot was actually taken with my iPhone. Not bad eh?

Decent Weekend

Posted on December 7, 2009
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The weekend was a pretty good compared to how they have been going. I got a chance to hang out with Vinny for a change. Football, pizza, sushi, beer and tequila… just how it should be.

No drama, no issues. Just a nice little weekend. Sunday was a good morning for a ride so Jamie and I headed out west once again to the Shell station on B-Line highway.

This morning was torrential downpours but it looks as though the rain has cleared up. Not sure if there’s any more in the forecast but currently the weather is beautiful. 79 degrees and sunny, sunny. Ah, December in Florida.

Light Humor

Posted on December 3, 2009
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cool-awesome-neeto-23b

Joseph M. Politzer

Posted on December 2, 2009
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nh1768042A Mass to celebrate the life of Joseph M. Politzer, age 32, will be 2 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009, in the chapel at St. Gabriel Church, 9925 Johnnycake Ridge Road, Concord Township.

On Nov. 22, 2009, while on an extended trip through Southeast Asia, Mr. Politzer lost his life in a tragic motorbike accident.

From a young age, Joe wanted to travel and see the world. After attending the University of Cincinnati, he realized that a traditional career would not satisfy his passion for travel and adventure. Joe worked in the service industry, at Ruby’s in Cincinnati and at the Chop House in Chicago. In addition to the trip he was on in Southeast Asia, Joe’s travels took him to North, South, and Central America, and Europe.

After living in Chicago for six years, Joe moved to New Zealand in August 2008 to embark on his life’s dream — extensive travel though Southeast Asia. In addition to New Zealand, Joe traveled through Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia the Philippines, and last — Laos. He was due home soon to celebrate Christmas 2009 with family and friends.

Joe was loved by many and will be deeply missed. His character and personality allowed him to attract friends wherever he went. Hundreds of friends around the world have expressed their sorrow and grief at Joe’s passing. Joe can be best described by the comments made by family and friends: best brother that ever was, phenomenal spirit, kind-hearted, best weeks-months-years of my life, vivacious, perfect gentleman, romantic, adventurous, best of the best, always original, infectious laugh, what a legend, living life and seeing the world, charming maniac, most amazing man, human dynamo, caring and genuine, and king of fun and smiles.

Joe leaves behind his mother, Laura Hart (Jack Melvin); brothers, Andrew and Tyler Hart; sisters, Michelle and Nicole Hart; grandparents, Rita and Gene Politzer; nephew, Alan; aunt, Julie (Ed) Kunas; and cousins, Megan and Molly. Of great importance to Joe were friends, Shawn, Lindsey, Steven, and Jonny.

Jonny, you are forever part of our family.

To paraphrase a friend, Ryan: Joe was a soulmate to everyone, touching everyone’s life and making them feel special. Adventurous, some might say, but he was more — a shepherd of sorts to all. Like always Joe, you lead the way — we will see you soon!

The family requests that no flowers be sent. Joe had deep concern for impoverished children. All donations (c/o Laura Hart IMO Joseph Politzer at any Huntington Bank) will be forwarded, with the assistance of the American Embassy, to an organization that addresses those needs.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

Posted on November 26, 2009
Filed Under General | 1 Comment

Photo on 2009-11-26 at 08.21

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. This year looks like a working holiday for me. No plans for dinner with friends and family and I doubt I’m going to be able to keep my old Thanksgiving tradition of packing a sandwich and heading to the beach for a day-long surf session.

Instead I’ll be diligently working on a site for my client in Washington state and the two shoe catalogs for my local client. I guess to me it’s just another day except today I can’t go anywhere since everything’s closed.

Once the weather clears (it’s 68 degrees and foggy / rainy) I’ll probably go for a ride on the motorcycle just to clear my head and forget about the holidays all together.

I always hate this time of year.

Have a safe and happy holiday everyone. I guess if I had to list the things I’m thankful for it’d go something like this:

Thankful I had a chance to become such good friends with Joe and to know him like a brother.
Thankful I have a roof over my head and food in my fridge.
Thankful I have clients, even though some take way too long to pay.
Thankful I have great friends in the building and abroad.
Thankful I have a skill that keeps me working in this shitty economy.
And last but not least, I’m thankful for my family.

keep looking »

  • About

    Damien Komala - web designer

    I'm a seasoned 33 year old web designer originally from Cincinnati Ohio (born in Wilmington) and now living in West Palm Beach, Florida. I specialize in high end PHP and CSS sites as well as fully functional Wordpress and E-commerce sites for various clients.

    Even though I'm from Ohio I'm a die hard South Florida Surfer and beach guy. I picked up the sport over three years ago and never looked back. Any chance I get I'm in the water, which is sometimes rare considering that South Florida is fairly inconsistent with surf. Those days we do get are always a great gift.

    The blog itself is primary here to communicate with family and friends though it does server other purposes as well such as showcasing my portfolio, skillset and resume as well as giving me a place to express myself without (too much) injury.

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